Parting gift: A kick in the TVA

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild has filed a grievance and is continuing to work on a case involving vacation payout.

The case in question involves the Transitional Vacation Accounts (TVAs), which affect employees hired since the merger. Journal Sentinel Inc. management wanted those people to be placed on an earn-as-you-go vacation system. Thus, those workers no longer accrue vacation in the previous year; they accrue it during the current year.

The big difference under the new system: If an employee leaves the job on June 30, he or she would only be eligible for half of that year's vacation pay, not the full amount as had been the case under the old system. To compensate these people, the TVAs were established to provide some payback to employees who had their vacation accrual system changed.

Problems arose when Waukesha Bureau reporter Reid Epstein recently left the company. Epstein would have qualified for a third week of vacation later this year. The TVA language says, "Each account will contain the same amount of vacation as the affected employee would be entitled to take during 2006."

The Guild argues Epstein should receive three weeks from his TVA, because that's the amount of vacation he would have received in 2006.
The company argues Epstein should only get two weeks from his TVA,
because that's what he was eligible for when he left.

Furthermore, Epstein had taken more than two weeks of vacation already
in 2006, figuring he had three weeks coming this year. The company deducted
the days in excess of two weeks from the amount that was paid out from his
TVA.

The Guild believes this violates the contract provision that states employees will not be required to reimburse the employer for taking more vacation than was earned at the time of departure.

A grievance hearing was held recently, and the grievance was denied. That denial has been appealed.

Pension negotiators named

Veteran union leader Dave Kirner has been named to lead the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild's bargaining committee in negotiations on recent Journal Communications retirement changes.

Kirner, a photo technician, is a Guild board member and former president, as well as a former leader of our sister Communications Workers of America local in the composing room. He will be joined at the bargaining table by our 1st vice president, day copy editor Greg Pearson, and by steward leader and board member Jerry Ziegler, an assistant copy desk chief.

The company has said veteran employees will have a choice between staying in the current pension system or freezing their pension benefits at current levels and taking a 3% employer contribution to their 401(k) accounts, but newly hired full-timers will have only the 401(k). It's not clear how the plan affects new or less-senior part-timers. The Guild argues that such major changes must be negotiated with the union.

Talkin' 'bout the next generation's editors

Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. negotiators will meet soon to discuss how much bargaining-unit work MKE managers should be allowed to do.

In the main Journal Sentinel newsroom, the contract limits bargaining-unit work by managers. Because MKE is a new operation, the Guild agreed not to file any grievances over bargaining-unit work by the publication’s three managers through late October of this year. That was similar to the treatment of JS Online in its early years. The company has requested an extension of this temporary exemption, triggering the upcoming talks.

Journal Sentinel management has taken some positive steps this year to address Guild concerns about bargaining-unit work by newsroom managers, mainly through a contract provision that calls for gradually reducing the number of jobs excluded from contractual protection. In July, the company moved the vacant position of News Information Center manager into the bargaining unit. That followed a similar January move for the database editor. The Guild had repeatedly objected to the amount of bargaining-unit work handled by both of those managers.

As a result of those moves, the number of excluded positions has dropped from 58 last year to 56 this year. One more excluded job is to be moved into the bargaining unit by Jan. 1, followed by further negotiations on the issue next summer.

Guild elections coming up

You haven’t seen any campaign commercials for this election, but you still have candidates to vote for.

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild will elect its next Executive Board at the membership’s annual meeting, at noon Sept. 18 at Turner Hall. At stake are 10 offices, all with one-year terms starting Oct. 1: President (our top leader and public spokesperson), 1st vice president (in charge of grievances and other forms of contract enforcement), 2nd vice president (in charge of membership, mobilizing and communications), secretary (in charge of the Guild office as well as taking notes at meetings), treasurer (our chief financial officer) and five board members (all expected to be active in committee work as well as attending board meetings).

If you’re interested in seeking any of those offices, contact President Jennie Tunkieicz or Secretary Kawanza Newson. Nominations also will be accepted from the floor.

Also at the membership meeting, we’ll vote on whether to keep dues at their current low level. And we’ll decide how many delegates to send to the international Guild’s 2007 sector conference, then elect those delegates (and maybe some alternates) and pick one of them to represent us at the Communications Workers of America’s international convention as well.

Fascinating facts about your retirement options

Here are some things you might not have realized about the retirement options being offered by Journal Sentinel Inc. -- unless you read all the fine print:

* If you take the option of freezing your pension benefits at the current level and taking the 3% annual employer contribution to your 401(k), the company won't give you anything toward your retirement next year. The pension contributions would end in 2006, but the first 3% contribution won't come into your 401(k) until 2008.

* That 3% annual contribution would be in addition to -- not instead of -- any match that you're already getting on your 401(k). But, like the match, the annual contribution would not be guaranteed. Small print on the brochures we've received indicates the annual contribution would be dependent on company profits. Journal Sentinel Inc. executives have indicated details of that point remain under review.

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild representatives will be meeting with the company to negotiate on the retirement changes, particularly the move to eliminate all traditional pensions for everyone hired after May 1 of this year. Meanwhile, Guild leaders urge all employees to carefully study all of the information available to see which option best serves their needs.

New Guild leaders named

Four Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members have stepped up to take on new responsibilities, replacing colleagues who have left our bargaining unit.

The Guild's board has confirmed Mike Johnson as wage data coordinator and Amy Rodenburg as newsletter editor.

Johnson, a Waukesha Bureau reporter and steward, will be responsible for checking payroll information to ensure that everyone in our bargaining unit is being paid what the contract requires. This job was handled for many years by Bob Helbig in conjunction with his role as treasurer and his former roles as vice president and president, but with Helbig's move into management as a deputy business editor, the board decided this important responsibility should be separate from the treasurer's job. Johnson will join the vice presidents and steward leaders on the Grievance & Representation Committee.

Rodenburg, a night copy editor and steward, will be responsible for editing, design and production of Fifty-one as a key member of the Communications Committee. She replaces Reid Epstein, who resigned from the Waukesha Bureau to take a job at Newsday. Both Rodenburg and Johnson will complete terms that expire at the October board meeting, when the newly elected board decides whether to reappoint or replace appointed leaders.

Separately, the Grievance & Representation Committee has named Pat McIlheran and Dave Lee as our newest stewards. McIlheran, an editorial page columnist, will represent the Editorial Board, replacing editorial writer Dick Foster, who retired. Lee, an MKE copy editor, will represent the MKE staff, replacing MKE reporter Nikki Sweeney, who resigned to take a job at Marquette University. Both McIlheran and Lee will complete terms that expire Oct. 18, a month after the Sept. 18 annual meeting, when the newly appointed Grievance & Representation Committee decides whether to reappoint or replace stewards.

Pension grievance leads to talks

Journal Sentinel Inc. has agreed to negotiate with the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild over changes to the Journal Communications pension plan, after the Guild filed a grievance on the issue.

That grievance protests the company's decision to offer veteran employees a choice of retirement plans -- continuing in the pension plan or freezing current benefits in exchange for a 3% company contribution to the 401(k) plan -- but to replace traditional pensions with 401(k) contributions for everyone hired after May 1 of this year. The grievance argues the changes, particularly for new hires, were too drastic for the company to impose without bargaining with the Guild.

Meanwhile, the company has indicated it will set up meetings in September to discuss the pension changes with employees. The Guild urges you to pay close attention to how the changes would affect you. Your individual financial circumstances will determine whether you would be better off staying in the traditional pension plan or taking the 401(k) contribution.